Should you wish to emulate the achievements of the great Katy Perry, William Shatner and others by taking a trip on one of Blue Origin's rockets beyond the Kármán line, I have excellent news—you can now pay for the experience with cryptocurrency.
Shift4 Payments, a self-described "leader in integrated payments and commerce technology", has announced it's been working with Blue Origin to use its seamless payments technology to allow would-be space travellers to pay with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, USDT and USDC for a trip on one of the company's New Shepard rockets. The system is said to be up and running as of last week, marking a brave new frontier of crypto and space tourism combined.
“Our mission has always been to revolutionize commerce by simplifying the transaction process, and we’re thrilled to now extend that vision beyond Earth,” said Shift4 CEO Taylor Lauber. "This partnership will enable adventurous travelers to book the adventure of a lifetime, no matter their preferred payment method - all with a simple, frictionless experience."
Blue Origin is currently taking bookings for one of 1,000 places aboard said rocket, promising that you'll "return to Earth, forever changed". The New Shepard spacecraft allows travellers to float about in relative comfort inside one large crew capsule, roughly 62 miles above the planet's surface, before gently descending back down to terra firma with the help of some substantial parachutes.
It's not known exactly how much a single flight costs, but the booking form states that a (refundable) $150,000 deposit is required to begin the order process, so I imagine it's not exactly cheap. Still, if you made out big in the last crypto boom, it might be something on your bucket list—and previous celebrity travellers appear to have enjoyed the experience immensely, so it's probably worth a punt if you've got the spare virtual cash rattling around in your digital wallet.
Of course, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is not the only contender vying for your space tourism cash. Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's spaceplane-based competitor, allows you to join a waiting list for future flights, said to cost $450,000 a seat in boring old regular money. Elon Musk's SpaceX, meanwhile, offers yet another mysterious booking form on its website, although there are no known space tourism flights currently in operation.
Russia's Soyuz programme has previously allowed private individuals to book a seat on one of its spacecraft, although it's not currently offering bookings, instead focusing on professional crew rotation runs to the International Space Station.
So, it looks like Blue Origin might be the fastest way to get yourself above the planet for a good old stare at its dying ecosystems from above, and now you can use internet funny money to pay for the experience. Much of which, it must be said, was likely generated through the very power-sapping mechanisms that helped contribute to its downfall in the process. Lovely.
